Glass to Freedom
by Sciara
Summary: Raise a glass to freedom, something they can never take away - no matter what they tell you; raise a glass to the three of us! [Oneshot Series, for ASLBrosWeek2016]
1. Memories and Moments

**(Very) Slowly bringing stories on AO3 to here...**

 **Part of my ASLBrothersWeek2016 series.**

* * *

He had forgotten how incredibly _loud_ a Strawhat party was like.

Mixed in with the insanity of the Heart Pirates, the Whitebeard Pirates, the Revolutionaries, and a fleet.

He was still trying to wrap his head around it. A fleet.

 _Trying_. Key word was _trying._ It was a _fleet._

"What are you thinking so hard for?"

Ace's mouth twitched upwards as he let a grin envelop his face. "Oh, you know. Menial things. Like how our little brother obtained a _fucking fleet_."

The man beside him laughed, clapping his back and sitting down beside him. Sabo ran a hand through his hair. "Really now? Truth be told, I wouldn't have believed it if it weren't for the fact that I was there when Luffy recruited more people into his fan club."

Ace raised his eyebrows. "You sure you weren't inebriated or something when you met up with him in Dressrosa?"

Sabo narrowed his eyes in mock irritation. "And aren't _you_ thinking too hard for someone who suffered through a _severe_ concussion and narcolepsy-induced hallucination just seven days ago? It begs the question if you really are fit to be out of an infirmary."

"Aren't you rude? And yes, I'm pretty sure I'm fine. I had Ana check on me, Chopper; Bay even dropped by for a bit _just_ to make sure that I was still very much alive no matter what anyone says, and to make sure that even though the majority of the effects are gone, I wouldn't get myself killed because of it."

"Ah, right," Sabo mused, "Luffy had a veritable fit when you collapsed. And your crew." He furrowed his brows. "I'm pretty sure your captain was just about to smash his weapon into Blackbeard again when you collapsed, seeing that your last hit was apparently from him."

"Eh? So you're telling me that when Marco told me you pretty much _flew_ over when it happened was a lie?"

"I was only checking to see if you messed up the plan and that he wasn't screwing with me; you should know that I'm always compo –"

"ACE! SABO!"

Something crashed into both males with immense force and nearly forced all three to topple off the cliff. Both Ace and Sabo hit face first into the ground, the figure that forced them into it sitting on their backs. With a grunt, Ace pushed his brother off him, grumbling and holding his head.

"Damn it, Lu," Sabo said softly, "you nearly toppled us into the ocean. I'm the only one who can swim and carrying both of you to the coast would've been too much for your bodies to handle."

"Shihihi, sorry!" Luffy laughed, grinning and moving back and forth in a tipping manner. "You guys just disappeared and no one's seen you and there's so much food! Oh," Luffy paused for breath, still grinning manically towards his brothers, "the blue chicken is back! I wanted Ussop to go catch it but Nami said it was a bad idea because it was with your crew so I wanted to ask –"

"No," Sabo deadpanned, face exasperated and a little worried, "No. Just, no. Ace, tell him –"

Beside Sabo, Ace looked like he was on the verge of choking. The sound of muffled laughter escaped his mouth that was clasped closed by his hand. Luffy didn't stop grinning.

"Oh – oh, ma – blue chicken – he though, he though he's escaped from those comments, but –" Ace managed to choke out, ignoring Sabo's immensely worried expression, "I – I can't wait to tell him."

"You sure Phoenix isn't go to be annoyed?" Sabo asked. Ace shook his head.

"Annoyed, oh yeah. Attack? Nah. He's put up with it for who knows how long so it's more of the fact that he's being called a _chicken_ , not a phoenix. Calling him a pineapple causes more issues."

"FOOD!" Luffy shouted, and dragged both his brothers over to the main circle of the celebration. Koala laughed at the long suffering faces both brothers sported as Luffy happily brought them to his crew to 'officially' meet.

* * *

"I gotta ask, how did you three become brothers, anyway?"

Sabo blinked in mild surprise. "You mean he hasn't told you?"

Marco gave a flat stare. "We've learned more about him in the past week than we have in the four years he's been in the crew."

Beside him, Thatch pouted. "And it's a shame, too!" Suddenly, he leaned in and grinned. "'sides, I really, _really_ want to learn the story behind that tattoo of yours, Ace."

Sabo's eyes found their way to Ace's arm tattoo, a feeling of warmth coil itself inside him. It was something he would eternally tease Ace on, but would let Ace forget that he appreciated it, as well. Ace's face reddened slightly at the mention of the tattoo, and he brushed his hand over the crossed-out S instinctively.

"Wow." Sabo paused, then turned to face Ace. "You really do suck at sharing, do you?"

Ace narrowed his eyes. "We grew up around a dump site and a forest where you won't survive unless you take it over. What do you _think_?"

Sabo blinked, then grinning as he heard Luffy laugh at the other side of him. It was clear to him that Ace had momentarily forgotten that he hadn't told _anybody_ in his crew about his childhood, because Ace suddenly deeply reddened and ducked his head. Luffy had the opposite reaction, instead laughing merrily at his crew's reaction. Even _Robin_ had a reaction: pure perplexity and surprise.

Sabo found it very fitting. Had he not been living with Ace and Luffy in a forest and a dump, he'd be extremely dubious as well.

"You're kidding," Nami said, "No way. Sounds like one of Ussop's lies."

The sniper in question looked offended, but Sabo merely shrugged in response. "Don't know what to tell you; take it or leave it. We had a very weird childhood."

"Weird?" Ace's voice came out, clearly muffled as he stuffed it with food in an attempt to hide his embarrassment. "For us, it's completely normal." He finally made eye contact with his crew since he started stuffing his face. "For you guys? It's weird by _Curiel's_ standards." At the Sabo's, Koala's, Hack's and the Strawhat's blank stares, he elaborated. "You don't want to know. Trust me, it's better this way."

Sabo grinned as he watched Koala blanche, deep in her imagination of what could possibly be so horrendous that the infamous Portgas D. Ace, brother to the seemingly-insane Chief of Staff found it _weird_.

"Please. We're pirates who sail the New World. We've seen these little seal-like animals follow us around for no discernable reason, had rocks rain down like a light downpour, and you think _that's_ not weird?" Haruta hotly challenged, which was met with maniacal cackling from Ace.

"I was eaten by alligators before!" Luffy added in, nonchalantly munching on pieces of meat.

"… Wha?"

The Pirate King nodded, only half hearing the question. "Yeah! Ace and Sabo always had to pull me out before!"

"By always, he means once every twenty-minutes. About. We didn't keep count." Ace supplied, thinking it was very helpful information which was met with immensely _satisfying_ gobsmacked faces from pirates and rebellion-starters.

"Actually, they were crocodiles." Sabo mused, partially leaning on Ace's shoulder as his hands went to swat away Luffy's thieving set.

"That – that doesn't change the fact that _he was eaten!_ " Koala half-shouted, doing her best to find some sort of logic that would make sense or even barely apply to the three brothers.

"You're right," Marco muttered, "it's weird. We should grab Curiel and get his opinion on this insanity."

"Actually, Ace and Sabo wanted to kill me the first time we met!" Luffy happily added.

…

"What is with you and trying to kill people who want to befriend you!?" Thatch cried out, pointing his index finger to Ace. "What is _wrong_ with you people!? Is it a custom or something back in East Blue?"

Hack let out a long, deep suffering sigh. In all honesty, Sabo found it very enjoyable to watch their reactions. In that moment, the Strawhat Pirate's reactions were a gift to the world.

"Not possible," Zoro deadpanned, face incredibly unamused. "No. Both of you asked us to watch over him and make sure he doesn't get himself killed. _With the exact same words_. Within a two-year time gap." Zoro shook his head, crossing his arms. "I can't see it."

"Shihihihi! It's true!"

Sabo peered behind him only to see Koala's blank face. He poked her arm. "Koala, you alright?" He furrowed his brows. "None of your supposedly non-existential injuries from a week ago are coming back to haunt you, right?"

"Shut up," she said faintly, "I'm processing. I was trying to understand how your brother was eaten, and then…" her eyes hardened; she lunged towards the blonde who fell into the very middle of their incredibly messed up circle. "You have a brother complex, Sabo! You know, the term used for siblings that are incredibly close and care for each other a lot? The best way to describe someone's love for their sibling in a single sentence? _Do you?_ "

Hack blinked. Then he met Sabo's eye. "Well done. You managed to do one thing that's occurred only three times. You've broken her."

Izou's mouth was slightly ajar. "If you don't mind me asking, who's done the last three times?"

Hack shrugged, and Sabo was suddenly filled with deep, _deep_ betrayal. "Hack, don't you dare!"

"The last three times? Well. As of the moment, they're alive. However, I'm not quite sure I can speak for the next few minutes."

Sabo writhed as Koala tightened her grip on his arm. " _Hack!_ "

"Ah, but of course…" The fishman tipped his head back to watch the sky darken, "they happen to be right here."

"Aw, but Sabo and Ace also helped me train! We sparred a lot, too!" Luffy added, leaving Koala momentarily distracted and Sabo took the opportunity to move behind Robin – something that amused the archaeologist – as he took in Luffy's words.

Sabo made brief eye contact with Ace.

 _It's getting worse. Control him._

 _Right. Riiiiighht. Because Luffy can be controlled._

 _You suck._

 _Well then, time to cancel all my plans and think about how to please the Chief of Staff._ _Boo-hoo._

Sabo ended their non-verbal conversation with a glare.

"Sparred? Care to indulge us, Luffy-san?" Brook asked, strumming his violin as he prepared for another song.

"Yeah! Hundred fights a day, fifty per person!" The rubber pirate chirped, clearly – and happily – lost in his memories. "They always beat me, though! Shihihihi, but I didn't care! Sabo and Ace are super strong, and Ace didn't even have a devil fruit back then!"

Thatch's eye twitched. "How old were you guys?"

"Ten, seven." Ace, Sabo and Luffy stated in perfect timing.

Ace shrugged. "We were actually pretty old, if you think about."

Haruta stared. "Yeah, no, Ace. You're twenty-two. Youngest in the crew. You're practically a kid."

Sanji raised a hand and lazily waved it around. "Regardless of that, I don't think _any_ of us expected this. And I here I thought we knew a lot about our captain…"

Ace snorted. "You think _this_ is bad? This is the minor stuff! Little detail and all that! _We're not even brothers yet!_ If you guys can't handle this, then I'm afraid you guys won't be able to handle certain… _things_." The freckled pirate's face scrunched up. "… Yeah, no, that's the best description I can give you with causing some… things." He gave them a mischievous grin. "The tattoo doesn't happen until much, _much_ later, you know?"

Sabo gave an unrestricted laugh at the sight of Thatch's devastated face; it was glaringly obvious that he wanted to know more about it. He contemplated making Ace _not_ tell them, considering it was something only the three brothers knew about, even the moment they first laid their eyes on it.

 _Yes,_ Sabo mused. _Today's a good day._

 _I want to think more about the holes in my memory, but for now…_

 _I'll enjoy this time._


	2. Idiosyncrasies

**Written for Day 3 of ASLBrosWeek2016 - Those Damn Brats**

* * *

"… Hello?"

 _"Sabo?"_

The man blinked. "Ace? What is it?"

 _"Have you heard from Luffy?"_

"Nope," Sabo responded, his attention being caught by the sudden blast of smoke in the distance. He squinted. "Why?"

 _"He was suppose to report his status half-an-hour ago."_

Sabo went silent, his mouth twitching upwards slightly. "… Well then. I guess you have a problem on your hands now, do you?"

 _"What do you mean,_ my _hands? This is on you, too!"_ Sabo choked back laughter as he recognized the seething sound Ace was making from the Den-Den Mushi.

"Sorry, Ace! I think my snail's getting tired. See you at base!" Sabo distanced the snail from him periodically to fake the sound of broken communication. "Ah, no, but seriously, I have some errands to do."

 _"… Ah, right. Your errands."_ Ace responded, tone much lighter and slightly teasing. _"Well. Since you love doing them so_ much _, let me see if I can get someone to assign you more."_

"You suck, you know that?" Sabo replied, eye twitching in (very) mild irritation. "The absolute worst.'

 _"Jiji will always be the worst. I have to go see if I can get into contact with Lu – speaking of Lu…"_

"Luck is in your favour today, brother," Sabo teased, one eye closed as he split his focus on the sound of Ace's voice and the sudden appearance of black smoke in the distance. "Gotta go."

 _"Enjoy, you asshole._ "

* * *

"- and then we ran into the forest and we could hear everyone so angry and Ace just laughed, and – and Sabo just told us that we could do it again after a bit!"

"But doesn't your grandfather get angry when you do those things, Luffy?"

The Captain nodded. "Yeah, he does! He always beats us up and says that marines don't do that but we still do them! Shihihihi, it's always fun!"

"Wha – Luffy! What about your wounds?" Chopper looked at him, clearly worried about the injuries Luffy would end up sustaining from Garp the Marine Hero.

"Chopper's right, captain. You should be more careful," Zoro stated, lazily slumping on his lawn chair as the Thousand Sunny slowly came to a stop. "What if he hits too hard one day?"

Luffy insistently shook his head. "Nah, Jiji's always been hitting us hard! The three of us are used to it!" Luffy said, bouncing on his heel excitedly. "Ah, the island! I gotta go greet Smokey!"

"… Smokey?"

"Ah, it's the Commodore here in Loguetown," Nami stated dismissively, "According to Luffy, he's been given promotions lots of times but Smoker keeps refusing. Something about 'not wanting it' or whatever." Her eyes narrowed and they gleamed; anyone who's been within the navigator's vicinity knew what she was thinking of. "He better bring me some beli."

"Ah, I'm sure the captain will get you anything you want, Nami-swan~" Sanji said, fawning over Nami as he fanned her while bringing her a stool for her feet to rest on. "Luffy _is_ at a higher rank at him, seeing that he's apparently about to be offered promotion."

Ace slumped down in his chair and sighed.

He rubbed a hand alongside his face, rubbing his eye as another sudden wave of drowsiness hit him. Grumbling, he stood up and walked the corridors to his cabin. The ship was _blissfully_ empty, with all the others on the island. Ace didn't make it his business to know what they were doing in fine detail, but he drilled them enough to be the decent types.

"Unlike those assholes before," Ace added, drowsiness at a full time high. "… I'm… Fuck, I'm not making it to my room…"

He hissed when the ship violently rocked, nearly tipping over. Ace reacted instinctively and grabbed the nearest the door handle, a surge of relief thundering through him when the ship eventually fixed its position back upright. Then, _shouting_.

Ace didn't know if the shouting was a by-product of his migraine's second stage (it was a _bitch_ ) or if his mind was acting up and re-activating his 'defence' for loneliness – or, more precisely, the lack of being surrounded by people he cared about. He could distinctly hear Sabo's voice scolding him and telling him to _stop practicing so much_ and Luffy's insistence on him eating more.

Ace collapsed on the floor, briefly blacking out. He carefully stood up to not irritate his head anymore than it already was. Then, there was a loud _thud_ on deck, and Ace didn't know whether to sigh in relief or weariness when he recognized the footsteps approaching. He put his hand on the wall in an attempt to steady himself when the footsteps become lighter and softer; Ace cursed, ad let unconsciousness take him away.

* * *

"Was knocking me unconscious really necessary?"

Sabo was nursing a bruise on the side of head, a light glare directed towards his companions. The female giggled.

"Sorry, Sabo. Rules are rules."

"And I'm not exempt to them?" He whined.

"No," the fishman said. "You may be an ally and close friend, but you are not a member of the Revolutionary. Regardless, we offer you apologies."

"You've offered me three apologies already, Hack," Sabo grumbled, his lip twitching upwards in a slight smirk. "Also. Give me back my pipe."

"Ah, no can do," Koala stated, shaking her head. "We're doing some adjustments to it."

Sabo's eye twitched. "I'm going to need that back when I leave, you know?"

"According to Dragon-san," began Hack, "you told him that the next time you'd visit, you would stay for three days. So, we have prepared a semi-schedule for those three days."

Koala nodded enthusiastically alongside Hack's words. "Yup! In those three days, we can maximize the fun!"

" _Fun?_ Really? Unless your definition of 'fun' has changed since the last time I visited, it normally doesn't mean _getting whacked in the head with double hits of fishman karate._ "

"Don't be a stick in the mud, Sabo."

* * *

"SMOKEY!"

Luffy leaped onto the Commodore's back, wrapping his rubber arms around the smoke logia. 'Smokey' bit his cigars, untwisted Luffy's grasp and smashed the rubber man into the ground. "Don't do that, kid."

"'m not a kid!" Luffy said, pouting.

"Yes, you are," Smoker replied, spitting his broken cigar onto the ground; he looked around, as if looking for someone. "What are you doing here? Weren't you assigned to Water 7?"

"Shihihihihi! I am, but I got bored so I found one of my friends over there and I invited him to come with me so here we are!" Luffy explained, moving erratically around Smoker's general area. "Why are you jus' standing here?"

"Brat," Smoker muttered, lighting two new cigars. "TASHIGI! GET OVER HERE!"

"Ooh, Tashigi!" Luffy exclaimed happily. "Zoro told me all about her!"

"Zoro? The 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro? The _pirate?_ "

"Uh-huh!" Luffy nodded. "Oh. I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

"What else are you not telling us!? How the hell did you get into contact with a pirate, much less the Pirate Hunter!?"

"T-The Pirate Hunter?" Someone gasped, and they both turned to see Tashigi there, looking surprised, which soon turned into hardened determination. "He's – he's here?"

"Well –"

"CURLY BROW!"

"YOU DAMNED MARIMO!"

Tashigi and Smoker's eyes widened; the latter grabbed onto Luffy's opened uniform and brought him close to his face. "Why didn't you report this earlier!?"

"Eh? I'm a captain!"

* * *

"You awake yet, brat?"

He grumbled as he prodded around and felt the pillow underneath his head; then, he took the pillow and shoved it over his head.

"Oi." The voice was muffled now, but it didn't stop the voice from reaching his ears. "I was talking to you. I'm _still_ talking to you. And we didn't bring you here only to suffocate, especially under my watch." Something shuffled over, closer to him. "We even treated your migraine."

"Screw off, Marco," Ace mumbled; while Ace was smothered between blankets, a pillow and comforter, his voice was surprisingly clear. The pillow was pulled from his head and he pushed his arms down to raise his chest slightly, glaring at the Phoenix. "Explain to me why I always end up being kidnapped by you lot?"

"It causes you and I problems whenever a _marine_ enters a _pirate_ ship, especially the _Moby Dick._ You know, the ship of the Whitebeard Pirates?"

"… So, you wanted to make new recruits think this is how you do it and then let me confuse them from here?"

"Exactly, yoi. Also, Oyaji wanted confirmation on something, and with a little torture you're always willing to give up information."

Ace gave him a droll look. "Define."

"New recruits, _Rear-Admiral_. Why would we feed a prisoner more food than necessary?"

* * *

"Those _damned BRATS!"_

Sengoku sighed as Garp munched an entire packet of crackers, still sealed in plastic. The Fleet Admiral put his hands to his face, exasperated with Garp's antics, Garp's grandsons – Garp in general.

"The first thing the brat does is when he's promoted to Rear-Admiral is _visit the Whitebeard Pirates!?_ Then the other brat disappears off the face of the seas for _three days straight_ and then my brat goes on adventures the moment I tell him to behave because he's going to be promoted!" Garp snarls, stuffing more sealed packs of crackers into his mouth. Sengoku always wondered where does things went.

"Garp," the Fleet Admiral began irritably, "it was _your_ idea to make them into Marines, and while I truly appreciate the manpower its given us, has it occurred to you that they're causing more chaos!?"

The Vice Admiral's demeanor changed _instantly_. "My grandsons are idiots, but they make damn good marines!" He half shouted, bits of crackers being spitted out as he spoke. Sengoku grimaced and leaned deeper into his chair, doing his best to avoid chewed cracker bits. "If you just let me personally train them, they'd already be Admirals!"

"Garp, they are _nineteen and sixteen_. The way they are rising to the ranks is impressive, yes, but it doesn't change the fact that _your_ training in childhood caused them to be inanely destructive and chaotic!" Sengoku retorted back, slapping down three papers onto his desk for Garp to peer at. "These right here are personal complaints from some of the marines under their care. Read them!"

"They're _brats_ , Senny! _My_ brats! I'm proud of 'em!"

" _Control your damn brats!"_


	3. News

**Written for Day 5 of ASLBrosWeeb2016 - Day of AceSL**

 **... Should've stated this earlier, but _some_ pieces are related to each other.**

* * *

" _What the fuck."_

Marco's eyes widened. "Ace?"

" _What is this shit."_

Marco furrowed his brows, worry clear on his face; Ace didn't curse often, and when he did, it was always for a very good reason. He put a hand on the second division commander's shoulder. "Ace," Marco began quietly, "are you alright?"

Ace's entire body was shaking, and Marco's eyes glued onto the newspaper Ace was holding. Delicately releasing Ace's grasp from the paper, Marco took it and softly pushed Ace down onto the deck, forcing him to sit and _calm down_.

"Sa… Sa…" Ace muttered, breathy and high-pitched. Marco sat down beside him.

The Phoenix did a quick read over before his attention was taken by the news about –

The Revolutionary Army, Marco thought, has been attacked by –

Marco's grip on the paper nearly ripped it in half. A glance to his side found him weary with sympathy, because Ace had his hands entangled in his hair and was _shaking_ and Marco found that he never needed to see his youngest brother looking as _scared and tired_ ever again. "Ace," Marco murmured, "it's alright."

"Sa… Sab- " Ace gasped out, and Marco cursed as he recognized the signs of hyperventilation, and was suddenly very upset that no one else was up in the morning as well.

Facing in front of Ace and gripping his shoulders, Marco murmured reassurances. "It's alright, Ace. I'm here – _we're_ here. The family is fine, we're fine, you're fine." He watched as Ace took in deep breaths as his shaking minimalized and Marco sighed internally. "Blackbeard won't get to us, Ace. He won't."

To Marco's _severe_ worry, Ace shook his head, almost resignedly. "Sa- No, no, no…."

Marco carefully pulled Ace up, his hand on one of Ace's arms to face sure the younger pirate wouldn't suddenly collapse on him, and the Phoenix tugged the younger man away from their spot. "Come on," he said, and relief filled him when Ace followed without needing to be dragged. The sun had yet to completely rise, so the decks had little to no people on them. The ones on watch noticed them and gave worried looks that Marco waved away, but he knew they were still worried.

Marco hoped that when they passed the kitchen, the smell of the food would take Ace out of his stupor – he'd even let him steal from other people's plates – but Ace didn't do more than look inside forlornly, prompting to Marco that something was most _definitely_ wrong. Ignoring Thatch's alarmed words of _"What's going on, Turk?"_ , he continued on, occasionally tugging Ace to prompt him into walking.

Upon their reaching their destination, Marco knocked on the door. Ace tensed as the rumbling sound of confirmation and Marco dragged him inside. "Ace is having another bout of problems, Oyaji." Marco lightly slapped the freckled pirate on the face. "He was on the verge of hyperventilation earlier."

"What was that!?" Someone shouted, and Marco nearly laughed watching Ace's face blanche when he recognized _Ana_ 's voice, one of the ship's doctors.

And, Marco thought, if I remember correctly, the doctor of the Spade Pirates.

"Ace," Ana said, appearing from behind Whitebeard, her normally calm look replaced by one of unbridled _fury_ , "would you mind explaining?"

Whitebeard laughed, cutting Ace off from his explanation. "It is fine, Ana. It must not be that bad if Marco brought him here to me, first."

Marco shot his father a glare – the man just _laughed_ – and Ana shot her sights on Marco. "Good point. Why did you bring Ace is here first, Marco?"

Marco put his hands up placidly. "Hey now. No need to get violent. Ace needed to talk to Oyaji, that's it, yoi."

Ana huffed quietly before turning around and walking back to checking Whitebeard's health equipment. "The moment I hear something akin to _anything_ related to that, you will go to the infirmary. _Do you understand?_ "

"… Clear," Ace said softly, the first coherent word he had said since his near-hyperventilation. Marco knew from first-hand experience that Ana was tough to crack, and Ace had (once again) managed to do it in a single action.

"What is it, son?" Whitebeard asked, leaning slightly.

"Oyaji, have you read the paper yet?" Marco asked instead, presenting the newspaper in his other hand. Whitebeard shook his head, which prompted Marco to continue speaking. "It has news of the Revolutionary Army –" both older pirates noticed Ace's fists clenched at Marco's words, "and some… _less_ than pleasant news with them."

"I'm going to kill him," Ace muttered, which prompted Whitebeard to take the newspaper from Marco because the last time Ace wanted to kill someone it traumatized the entire crew.

Marco lightly cuffed Ace. "Hey. Stay with us, alright?"

"S…" Ace's voice became inaudible. The first commander sighed.

Whitebeard's voice took control. "Calm, my sons," he rumbled, golden eyes narrowed. "We will have our turn. For all that's happened, Teach believes us to be in hiding. He's become arrogant, and that will be his downfall."

"Oyaji," Ace murmured, finally looking back up, "what does it say about the Revolutionary Army?"

Marco's eyebrow shot up in surprise; he had thought Ace was mulling over the traitor, not the Army. The captain blinked before looking his youngest in the eyes. "Their base at Baltigo was attacked, but there was nothing to link any prominent members of the group remaining in the stronghold."

"They have pictures of Dragon and someone else included, yoi," Marco added. "Suspected to be Dragon's second in command. Marines suspect name starts with a…" Marco's eyes narrowed and he turned to look at Ace, "starts with a S."

" _… I'm going to kill him_ ," Ace snarled, and stalked out of Whitebeard's room.

"Go, Marco," Whitebeard said, "make sure he doesn't make any rash decisions."

"Aye, Oyaji."

* * *

"Ace," Marco grunted the moment he caught up. "Hey. Talk to me."

"Twelve damn years we haven't heard _shit,_ and the moment we do he's probably _dead_ ," Ace snarled, fists clenched and shaking in barely-controlled fury.

Marco grasped Ace's arm tightly, and to his relief, Ace stopped walking. "Come on," Marco urged, "let's go see Thatch. He's been bragging about this new food and how long it should take you to eat it."

Marco considered it a victory when he saw Ace's suppressed smile and proceeded to drag him into the galley. "Thatch! Get out here!" Marco shouted.

Marco then proceeded to blink blankly when only Thatch's _hair_ popped out, not even his face showing up. "Just a sec. Just gotta –" the hair went back inside the doors "finish up here."

Marco slid in the seat beside Ace. "So," he began, "if you're willing to talk, I'm sure you've heard that I'm a good listener, yoi."

Ace dropped his head down on the table, arms up to cover his head. Marco remained silent and reached out to ruffle the raven's hair, only retreating when the sound of Thatch's footsteps became louder and clearer from the mess that was the kitchen. "So I heard you wanted food," Thatch began, sliding the plates towards the other two.

Marco dipped his head in thanks, but Thatch was alarmed and went big-brother mode when Ace didn't as much twitch. "Is he okay?" Thatch asked, and before Marco could answer, he continued, "Is he hurt? Is he having one of those days? Is he sick? Does he need –"

"Shut up, Thatch," Ace mumbled, voice muffled, but he was responding and Marco considered that as another win. "I'm thinking."

"And I'm sure that's a new concept for you," Thatch said quickly, though Marco could still see the relief drip from Thatch, "but you see, _eating_ is something you're quite familiar with and the fact that you aren't doing so right now is _that's_ better!"

Ace had a halve of a toast inside his mouth and the other clinging on, a fork with a piece of an omelet on one hand and his glass of water in the other, all before Thatch managed to finish his sentence. "Contrary to popular belief," began Ace, "I'm not stupid."

"No, no, we know that," Thatch retorted, leaning back in his seat, "thing is, you don't really show it so people assume you're stupid."

"So, Ace, would you mind enlightening us on your sudden burst of anger?" Marco asked, ignoring Thatch's surprised look. Ace suddenly stopped eating, eyes narrowed and head tilted downwards. Upon closer inspection, Ace was grasping his left bicep; more specifically, over the crossed-out S that the entire crew was still clueless about. "Ace?"

"… Just me being worried sick over my brothers," Ace mumbled, and Marco's eyes narrowed in on the pluralized word.

 _Brothers_.

Ace had never mentioned another brother, even during the war.

Marco glanced beside him, and was pleasantly surprised to see that Thatch had yet to press Ace like he normally would. The chef looked like he was in denial to give their youngest a hug – it was an idea that would go _terribly_ wrong but would worth it – or to go cook more and get Ace out of his stupor.

Instead, Thatch started talking. "Well, we've already seen one of them, right? Luffy? If you want, we'll drag your other brother in kicking and screaming for you." Thatch said nonchalantly, expertly hiding the fact that he was somewhat mortified with the look Ace shot him.

Then, Ace waved it off, shaking his head. "Nah. I'll do it myself. He owes me ten…" Ace's silver eyes narrowed, "no, _twelve_ punches to the faces."

Marco and Thatch made eye contact.

 _Are we talking about the same person here?_

 _I think he's talking about this guy in the Revolutionary Army._

 _What does_ Ace _have anything to do with the Revs?_

 _How about you keep quiet and let him be happy?_

Thatch faked a cough. "So, uh, twelve?"

Ace crossed his arms. "One for each year." Then, under his breath, he added:

"And Luffy will gladly suffocate him for another twelve."


	4. Reminisce

**Written for Day 6 of ASLBrosWeek 2016 - Day of ASaboL**

 **At the time of importing this document onto the site, I have yet to finish writing Day 7. I am not to be trusted with a schedule.**

 **As of posting this chapter onto the fic, I have finished Day 7. It's become a two-shot.**

 **Damn it. Don't trust me with a schedule of any kind (exception: school schedule).**

* * *

He was speaking with Dragon about the whereabouts of a devil fruit was and battle preparations. Then, he was talking to Hack about supplies and necessities before Koala dragged him away to talk about what they should do with Kaido and the 'other stupid Yonko' before the other members – _an entire room worth –_ were calling for Sabo and asking if he knew _what in the seven's seas_ was that large ship coming their way, and the Chief of Staff laughed happily before telling them that it was a close friend that had _somehow_ found them because Sabo forgot to mention the Strawhat Pirates had his vivre card.

He was sitting on the opening of the cove, tinkering with his pipe when he first heard it.

"Sabo!"

A pair of rubber arms rubbed around him multiple times, pulling in a body towards Sabo and crushed him in a hug. "Hey, Lu," Sabo replied, a grin on his face. "How're you?"

Instead, Luffy smothered his face into Sabo's cravat, and Sabo could hear mumbled words of "Safe," and "alive," and Sabo tightened his hug. "Hey," he began softly, "I'm alive, alright? Sorry if I worried you."

"Mmhh…" The pirate mumbled, but eventually dragged his face from the cravat and pulled away from Sabo. "It's fine! We got Sanji and Jinbe and we kicked Big Mam's butt!"

The rebel blinked. "Big… Mam?"

Luffy nodded eagerly. "Yeah! She's really big and fat and she eats a lot of candy!" Then, he crossed his arms and scowled. "But she eats her nakama! That made me really angry so I wanted to punch her but Nami said not to and Zoro agreed! I had to wait a really long time to fight her!"

Sabo huffed lightly, laughing and ruffling Luffy's hair. "Your crew only wants the best, Luffy," he explained, "if you did that, you'd be really badly hurt."

Luffy pouted. "That's what Chopper said! Ah, well. I got to beat her up! I made friends, too! One of their names is Carrot and she's really nice and –"

Sabo grinned as he watched Luffy squirm, pulling his hat up and adjusting it to how it was before Sabo pulled it down. "Calm down, Luffy. You have plenty of time to tell me everything that's happened." He tilted his hat. "If you haven't noticed, your crew's arguing."

Luffy craned his neck to see. "Shihihihi! Zoro and Sanji are fighting! I'm glad; they haven't fought in so long! It's normal!" Then, he turned around and waved to his crew. "Oi, guys! Let's go!" Luffy tugged at Sabo's hand. "Let's go let's go let's go!"

"Eh?" Sabo blinked. "Well. Where do you want to go first?"

"Ooh, ooh! Can I see dad?"

Sabo laughed. "Yeah, let's go."

He released his hand from Luffy's grasp and stuffed them into his coat. They passed through large corridors that Luffy was attracted to due to their bright lights and reflective properties. Robin hurried past them at some point, looking very much interested in their new base – it _was_ inside a cave – and Sabo had to pry Luffy off one of the crystals when he realized it resembled _meat_. They reached the end of a corridor with a bright, luminescent crystal as it light source and a large door.

Sabo knocked on the door, leaning on it slightly. "Dragon-san?"

"Come in," a voice answered.

Sabo grinned and opened the door, pulling Luffy in with him. "Look, Luffy! It's your dad!"

Luffy grinned widely – Dragon stared, incredulous – and waved, bouncing over towards Dragon's desk and disorganizing all the papers on the desk. Sabo's mouth twitched upwards as his brother began to rant to his father about his shenanigans.

And suddenly, Sabo felt his heart _clench_.

 _Were you happy, Ace…?_ Sabo's tilted his head down, hiding his face.

 _Did you… did you find what you were looking for?_

"Sabo?"

The blonde raised his head, and a sheepish smile grew on his face as he realized both D's were watching him curiously. "I'm fine," Sabo said, forcing a small smile. "I'm fine. Just thinking."

Dragon's eyes narrowed, but didn't press. Sabo counted that as a victory. Luffy, however, was staring intently and looked ready to annoy Sabo until he spilled everything. Luffy opened his mouth –

"If you two don't mind, I need to re-organize this," Dragon stated, an Sabo wanted to collapse in relief as his leader cut off Luffy's words and the pirate pouted.

"It looks fine the way it is!" Luffy stated, and Sabo blessed the way his brother had the world's shortest attention span.

Dragon flicked Luffy's forehead with a bored expression, but Sabo could read his feelings like a book. "To you, yes." Dragon moved his gaze towards the Chief of Staff. "Sabo, if you would…"

The blonde chuckled. "Yep." He jerked his towards the door. "Come on, Lu. Let's go see if we can find Koala and Hack."

Luffy stuck his tongue out like a mature adult, but followed regardless. He shouted a goodbye to Dragon and happily skipped alongside Sabo, who had taken his hat off and adjusting his goggles. "Neh, Sabo?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you look so sad earlier?"

Sabo winced, briefly recalling fuzzy memories and remembering how pointless it was to lie to Luffy once he knew something was really up. "Just thinking. Really." _About Ace. About you_.

Sabo blinked, then he felt something squeeze him; looking down, he couldn't help but smile when he realized Luffy was hugging him tightly, as if he were to release his older brother, he would disappear. "Luffy…"

"Sabo, it's alright," Luffy mumbled, and Sabo froze, because while Luffy was a _moron_ , he wasn't an _idiot_. "Whatever you're thinking off, you shouldn't keep thinking about it because we have to be happy now!" Luffy peeled his face off and grinned happily. "Ooh, ooh! I met up with the Whitebeard Pirates and I met the pineapple guy –"

"Phoenix?"

" – he's a chicken! – and he said they've got Kaido done with or something, and Nami said we would meet up in about three months so now that we've seen you again we can team up and destroy Bushbeard –"

" _Blackbeard_." And _oh_ how did that name make Sabo's vision go red.

" – so we all gotta get ready!" Luffy finished, looking ferociously enthusiastic and devoted, and Sabo dubbed it as Luffy's 'About to kick ass' look. The strawhatted pirate looked at his brother. "You'll help right?"

Sabo grinned and lightly cuffed the back of Luffy's head. "Of course! What do you take us for?" He leaned in closer. "Besides, he's been causing a fair share of our problems as well, so we have more than a personal reason to get involved."

Luffy nodded. "Good."

* * *

"I'll see you soon, alright Luffy?"

The rubber pirate laughed, tilting his head left and right happily. "Yeah! Then we can fight together, remember?"

Sabo felt the corner of his mouth twitch upwards. "Yeah, of course." _Missing one, of course…_

Luffy hugged Sabo one more time before running back to the entrance of the cove. "See ya, Sabo!"

The blonde tipped his hat. "Yep. See ya, Lu." He sighed lightly, shoulders slumping before turning back around.

…

"Ah! Sabo!"

"Hrm?"

Luffy jumped back in front of him and presented a blank, square piece of paper. The rubber pirate was grinning happily. "Take it!" He chirped.

Sabo blinked, but nevertheless agreed, humouring Luffy. "Alrighty then…"

Rubber hands took his normal hands and guided them to his pockets. "Keep that safe, alright?" Luffy said happily, tilting his head, "it's super important!"

Sabo pursed his lips. "Whatever you say, Lu. But, what's it for?"

"Shihihihi!" Luffy laughed, jumping back to his waiting crew. "It's a mystery!" He shouted.

Sabo narrowed his eyes, hand clenching the paper.

 _That little brat._


	5. Semperfortis

**Written for Day 8 of ASLBrosWeek2016 - How Do You AU?** **Just letting you guys know, the Story of Tonight's lyrics won't show up in a story until the last chapter.**

 **Fun fact: I wrote this instead of Day 7. You know, the day I (repeatedly) promised would be filled with fluff.** **Funnier fact: I have a multi-chaptered series I should be working on. Guess what I'm not doing.**

 **As of uploading this, as stated in the previous chapter, Day 7 has been written. Part of it. I have this feeling that it'll become a three-parter at this point.**

 **If the comments on AO3 say anything, I'd suggest you bring a tissue or two.**

* * *

 _Death doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints;_

* * *

It was a terrible idea and they knew it.

"Who's idea was this, again?" Sabo mutters, ducking beside a large barrel and hiding his shadow.

"Come on, Bo," Ace whispers softly from the corner, "as stupid as this is, we need to do it. _Luffy_ needs it."

Sabo sighs wearily, and they waited in silence for the marine to leave the stand before the mismatched duo detaches themselves from the safety of shadows and continue their trek; their hands wander wherever there was a large crowd and stole whatever it was they could use – food, water, essentials. Jewelry to sell, cloth for bandages and the occasional clothing. This time, jewelry was their main goal as it got them good money – money needed for Luffy.

Both hear the soft murmurs and distinctive footsteps of hurried marines, and they decided to split up, Sabo taking the eastern side and Ace the west, using the latter's flames as their multi-purposed signal. The blond's hand twitches, wishing for his hat but Sabo knew that was a clear giveaway to who he was and no one with tattered clothing would have a well-kept hat like his. His eyes twinkle as he saw money stuffed into a pocket, uncaring if it was about to fall; he took the opportunity and swiped it, running into an alley an doing a quick count before hiding them in his _much_ more secure pockets. Passing through another section of the marketplace, he picked up on a conversation.

"You hear about that Devil Fruit they found?"

"Yeah – Yami Yami, or something?"

"Can't recall the name. I did hear them say that it's really powerful. Said they were sending it to G-5."

"Aren't all those Devil things dangerous?"

"Mm, but apparently this one's really bad."

Sabo's mind decides that information would be really useful and stores it, but the talk about Devil Fruits brings up a fresh, painful memory. He remembers clearly the day Ace ate his Devil Fruit; Luffy was weak, much too weak and sick and Ace had shoved the food up the boy's mouth before Sabo could even properly comprehend the words. Ace had stumbled upon the Devil Fruit earlier – both had decided it was both in their best interests not to eat it – and it was either eat it or faint from starvation and Sabo hated – _hated –_ Ace's explanation for it.

 _"What use am I dead?_ "

Sabo had no idea how to react to the lacking addition of how he didn't deserve to live in the first place, because while it meant progress with life, it also meant Ace was more than serious and _that_ , that was never a good sign. That, while it meant Ace realized he was useful for something in life, it was for being a _monster_.

Sabo hates it. Not more than the Celestial Dragons or the Marines or the Gorosei, but he hates it nonetheless.

A shot of fire reaching the skies grasps his attention, and while others are consumed by the sudden appearance of flames, Sabo nabs the items they are holding, items displayed at booths and stalls, and slips away unnoticed. The blond struggles with the heavy items, the big items. His pockets aren't large enough to hold them, and whatever he can store is much too heavy and will _slow him down_.

And speed – speed was an essential piece required to keep surviving. Especially with the Marines – Sabo knows they recognize the fire, and the particular signal Ace sends is the one of haste.

They've been found, and they'd be damned if they were caught now. The brothers made a promise a long time ago; a time so long that it seemed like a distant imagination.

(It was a memory – or dream? – that hurt, hurt _so_ much that every time they thought about it, they were reminded of what they had.)

* * *

When Luffy himself stated that he had a very, _very_ bad feeling, the other two knew that they needed to exercise more caution than ever. Sabo had decided he himself was to go, for he was better at subtlety and hiding, as Ace was the one being actively searched.

The former noble wasn't expecting another band of pirates; pirates that stole and killed for fun and fame and glory, pirates that didn't care about people. Sabo grips his pipe and makes quick precise hits, making sure that the head or face was hit because if he was recognized, then all hell would break lose, and they'd lose another two weeks of sailing for nothing, another two weeks only to be hated and feared and _unloved_.

(Sabo wonders what it feels like – the feeling of being wanted. The void he once had is filled by his brothers, but he's not sure how long it's going to last.

And his brothers; his brothers wonder as well.)

Sabo sees things he's seen so often before. Chocolates, sweets, candies, pancakes, flavored water, _luxuries_ of a noble.

He hates it with a burning passion.

The blond wanders and wonders – what word would be used to describe them? If those were the luxuries of a noble to a commoner, then what were they to people being hunted down for merely existing and affiliating with another child? He nabs and snatches (but recoils when he grabs sweets – water was scarce and sweets would only make it worse – and turns the other way) and is about to call it a day and get back to their ship before fire torches the town.

Long ago, so long ago, Sabo would have frozen and feared the fire and let memories of being burned take him; but Ace had tried to mend that, tried to fix the fears that had been instilled and it _worked_. The fire doesn't bother Sabo – instead, he narrows his eyes, mind thinking quickly, and he comes to a quick conclusion.

The fire doesn't belong to Ace.

It's uncontrolled and ravaging and hurting and the total opposite _of his brother_.

The islanders fear the fire, fear the damage and destruction and the lack of power. But Sabo, he doesn't fear the fire.

He fears what it brings with it.

He hurries back to his brothers, and Ace and Luffy are there, faces covered and Luffy grabbing anything – _anything_ – salvageable and Ace is mixing his fire with the unwelcomed fire and doing his best to control it.

Then, the earth shakes. Ace, Sabo, and Luffy's eyes meet. The former's are commanding, and the latter's fearful.

Ace ushers them onto the ship, their ship, and tells them to _get the hell out of here_. Sabo doesn't need to say anything – doesn't need to say that _we won't go_ because Ace has heard it a thousand times, and each time he comes back, alive and injured and _so much worse_ than he was before he left but _alive_ , damnit.

So Sabo and Luffy listen. They never say goodbye, because goodbye meant they were never going to see each other again.

"This is bad," Luffy says, and Sabo feels his heart get ripped out.

…

His brother dies battling the Whitebeard Pirates – dies from a mistake, a mistake on the crew of the Strongest Man in the World because they had thought the trio had attacked the island, an island under their protection, and Ace, his brother – his brother, his friend, one of his _first_ _true_ family – was there, trying to douse the fires with his own ability and Sabo knows Ace looked _crazed_ , crazed from the paranoia of being hunted down, crazed with the guilt of thinking _it was his fault_ his brothers were being hunted alongside him, crazed because he knows with all his heart and mind and soul that no matter how much he explains he will never be believed in; and the battle ensued.

It doesn't change anything to Sabo. He and Luffy are hiding, hiding from the world until Sabo could bring himself to pull it together. He doesn't care if the Whitebeard Pirates realize the truth and seek them out, or if they're still being hunted down, hunted for being affiliated with the son of a demon. It doesn't change a thing.

Portgas D. Ace dies from the hands of Edward Newgate.

* * *

Weeks later, sailing once more – but hurting, always hurting, – Sabo recognizes the fact that he just went through the stages of grief; he recognizes it briefly, but his memory reaches out and states that acceptance – acceptance of Ace's _eternal lack of presence_ – is the last stage. The other stages are hazy; fuzzy things that make a lick of sense. He remembers being in denial, being angry, and _hoping_ it was just a dream. That's it. He remembers that.

What Sabo doesn't remember is Luffy looking so _lost_.

Ace is – _was_ , his mind whispered – sixteen, and Sabo, due to be the same in just a few short weeks, was fifteen.

Monkey D. Luffy is only twelve years old, and no child should have to bear the fact that one of his brothers, his family, one of his only companions, is dead.

It's unacceptable.

The worst part is, Sabo doesn't know how to handle it. He's _fifteen_ years old and was hated and being hunted down – no longer because of Ace, but it was never because of Ace – for a new reason, yet it's achingly familiar.

(To be hunted down by a completely new yet similar – not similar, same, _exactly the same_ – reason, Sabo finds it harrowingly ironic.)

He tried his best. The seas knew that Sabo tried his damned best. And fortunately for him, it's all Luffy wants; and even more fortunate, it's all Luffy needs. Some _sense_ of stability, a sense of norm. Sabo wagers it's more than they thought they'd get. And during the course of trying to help Luffy, Sabo is reminded about something. Something he didn't know whether to scream or cry or whatever.

He remembers Portgas D. Ace dying.

But he also remembers his brother, _his brother,_ Ace, smiling. Smiling in the arms of death. Smiling because he got his due, or because he was a D. or because he died _protecting his family_.

Nevertheless, his brother dies with a smile.

…

"It hurts," he whispers to the darkness, the only thing comforting the duo.

It's a beautiful, cruel world.

* * *

He woke up to _screaming_.

(He hates it; he hates it he _hates it_.)

The fervor feeling of hatred is multiplied because his mind registers it as _Luffy_.

Very vividly and very briefly, he recalls the sound of an explosion and the feeling of the shockwave and running and shouting to _get to a clearing!_ and just _running_. His memory comes back in fractures, and suddenly, his memories crumble and collapse under pressure and all he can recall s Luffy _collapsing and having to protect and –_

Sabo gasps, pain coursing through his arm; his gasp brings an inhale of smoke and cracked debris. And he remembers. Remembers the sound of talk and explosions and _revolution_.

(The Revolutionary Army, his mind whispers.)

Sabo briefly recalls a fishman, and the fishman recognizing him and _challenging him_ ; Sabo had two options, fight or flight.

He chose flight, but Sabo doesn't know if that was the wise choice, if it was the reason _Luffy was screaming and crying_. Then, his mind snaps back to reality, up to speed with life and how it waits for no one.

The blonde realizes the situation he's in, and Sabo wants to _scream_.

Luffy was crying. Luffy – his brother, their brother, _their little brother_ – shouting and screaming and crying and begging and Sabo wanted it to just _stop_.

But stopping involved living.

And Sabo knew he wasn't mean to do that.

Pain stabs through his very core, and it hurts, it hurts to even _breathe_ , but he does the one thing he knows to do best, something he's been doing since their other brother had died two years ago, and Sabo knows he's going to do it with confidence, so much confidence, and he knows Luffy will know it's an act but still. He does what he does best.

Sabo smiles as Luffy tentatively returns it; fake as his ow, but Sabo's heart warms because of the action.

(And the blonde's last memory is the forced smile of their little brother, and he wishes that they could take the pain away.)

Three years later, and they're proud.

So, so, _so_ proud.

Monkey D. Luffy officially sets sail at May 5th, 1522. The teen – boy, _boy_ , to Ace and Sabo, because no matter what, they will also always see the child the unfortunately left behind – lives. Lives the life his brothers ached for, and lives for _them_.

(Because Sabo knows that otherwise, Luffy would have rather joined them, and Ace – and Ace hurts with that idea.)

Luffy's first crew member is a _Pirate Hunter_ , and it completely baffles the duo. The next is unofficial, but Ace bets with Sabo that the Cat Burglar would join – a bet Sabo declined because _who bets against their own idea?_

Luffy's entire crew baffles the duo; Ace cracked at the cyborg, and Sabo followed with the skeleton, but they were Luffy's friends and crew and _nakama_ (What a foreign word, Sabo thought) and because they cared about Luffy, Sabo and Ace cared about them too.

They don't know what happens after a battle with the man named Blackbeard, but they know something for certain, even after five and three years later.

Monkey D. Luffy _will_ survive, because he was a fighter, a survivor;

"Our brother," they say.

* * *

 _It takes and it takes and it takes._

* * *

 _Semperfortis - always strong; always courageous_


End file.
